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Solar
Comet Near-Earth

Westphal

20D/Westphal

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
21.109 AU
True anomaly
195.6°
As of
17 September 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 19m 01s
Declination
-54° 19′ 03″
Constellation
Lupus
Distance from Earth
21.52 AU
Elongation from the Sun
64.57° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

From your location

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Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
15.642 AU
Eccentricity
0.9198
Inclination
40.89°
Orbital period
61.87 years
Perihelion
1.254 AU
Aphelion
30.03 AU
Longitude of ascending node
348.01°
Argument of periapsis
57.08°
Epoch · J2000
2420080.5
Orbit class · HTC
Halley-type comet
Earth MOID · 182.2 LD
0.4683 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.361

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
201
Data arc
61.11 years
First observed
1 September 1852
Last observed
13 October 1913
Residual RMS
2.03 ″
Solution · M.S.W. Keesey
11 April 2003

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
8.8
Total magnitude M₁ · K₁ 10
8.8

Discovery & classification

Also known as 20D

Near-Earth Object Named

Sources